


Shadow Broker

by HuntersMoon47



Series: Wait For Me To Come Home [3]
Category: Mass Effect
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-05-19
Packaged: 2018-10-20 08:42:34
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10659000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HuntersMoon47/pseuds/HuntersMoon47
Summary: Shepard and Garrus help Liara hunt down the Shadow Broker





	1. Finding Liara

Shepard may have put her gun away but Garrus didn’t trust Vasir. He kept his rifle in his hands as he followed Shepard around Liara’s apartment. He shouldn’t have been surprised by the various Prothean artifacts or even the painting of Ilos. He was surprised, though, when Shepard pressed her hand against a glass case holding what looked like scrap metal.

“It’s my old chest plate,” Shepard whispered. Garrus’ gut twisted as he stepped closer to look over her shoulder. The metal was scorched and twisted, the N7 barely visible. He shuddered when he thought of what Shepard’s body must have looked like inside that armor. “She must have taken it off me when...:”

Her voice pinched off and Garrus’ visor picked up the increased heart rate, the shortened breaths. Gently, he leaned into her, the press of his arm slowing her growing panic. When her vitals returned to normal, Garrus pulled away.

“Check upstairs?” He asked. “There might be something up there.”

Shepard nodded and headed up the stairs in silence. Vasir followed, must to Garrus’ ire. Looking through Liara’s things was personal; something he and Shepard should be doing alone, not with a stranger watching their every move. He didn’t have long to stew, though, when Shepard called out to him.

“Garrus, look at this,” she said, her voice soft. When he joined her at the bedside table, she held up a holo. The original crew smiled up at him, standing in front of the Normandy. It was before Virmire - before they lost Ashley, before Ilos and battling Saren. They were all smiling, arms slung over shoulders.

Then the photo changed and Vasir inserted herself into the conversation. A few minutes later, Garrus, Shepard, and Miranda were following Vasir to the Dracon Trade Center. When the arrived, Garrus hung behind Shepard and Miranda as they met up with Vasir - it was easier to keep his eye on the Asari Spectre from a distance. He couldn’t hear what they were saying as they climbed the stairs to the trade center, but it didn’t matter.

Just as Shepard reached the top of the stairs, and explosion tore through the third story of the building.

The flash blinded Garrus momentarily. The force of the blast knocked him backward, thought he managed to keep his feet - barely. He heard Shepard grunt over the coms.

“Shep?” He asked, hopefully keeping the panic out of his voice. All he could think about was that charred N7 chest plate in Liara’s apartment. “Are you okay?”

The next three seconds were some of the longest in his life.

“I’m fine,” Shepard gasped. Garrus’ vision began to clear enough for him to see her get to her feet at the top of the stairs. Relief rushed over him and he bound up the stairs to her side. She glanced up at him and then behind him to the still-burning building. “If she was in there…”

Garrus dropped a hand on her shoulder.

“This is T’Soni,” he said. “Remember how we met her? I’m sure she figured something out.”

“Well, she better have,” Shepard grumbled. “Because if she’s dead, I’m gonna kill her.”

 

\-----------

 

Danica tried to focus past the panic rising in her chest. The explosion had taken out the entire third floor. If Liara had been in there…

“I’m sure she’s alright, Shep,” Garrus reassured her once again as they stared at the destruction in the main lobby. “She’s smart. She probably knew it was a trap.”

“Yeah,” Danica mumbled past the lump in her throat. He’d said almost the same thing outside. It didn’t calm Danica’s anxiety but she had to keep going. If Liara was in here she probably needed help. Danica, Garrus, and Miranda swept the first floor. The damage was extensive. She dispensed medi-gel to the few survivors she found, though it probably wouldn’t help most of them. “EDI, please notify emergency response teams that there are survivors inside.”

“Yes, Shepard.”

She hated to admit it, but EDI was fucking useful. Sometimes she wondered how the first Normandy had managed without her. Though, she’d never tell Joker that. When the swept the second floor they found a body riddled with bullet holes.  Shepard looked at Garrus, eyebrows raised. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. Something was definitely not right. Miranda felt it too - Shepard could tell by the way her brow pinched together, creating a little crease at the center.

They met Shadow Broker agents on the third floor, right after Danica found Liara’s sign in at Baria Frontiers. Only minutes before the explosion. She felt panic clawing at her again until Garrus leaned into her, just as she had at the apartment. A silent reassurance; a wordless communication that he had her back; he was there, no matter what. It was a little embarrassing how much she was coming to rely on him. Though, she couldn’t bring herself to care too much.

“You sure we can trust Vasir?” Miranda asked, interrupting Danica’s thoughts. Shepard shook her head.

“After Saren, Spectres don’t get a lot of trust from me,” Shepard said, fully recognizing the irony. “Be ready, just in case. If she’s clean - great. If not, at least we don’t get caught with our pants down like we did on Eden Prime.”

Both Miranda and Garrus nodded their agreement. Neither of them had been with her then - it had been just Kaidan and Ash - but they knew the mission. It felt like a lifetime ago. Hell, it was a lifetime ago. She shook her head, trying to get rid of all the distracting thoughts. She had a friend to find and a Shadow Broker to hunt down. Getting distracted was going to get someone killed.

They found the other Spectre, a Broker soldier falling at her feet, but something about it didn’t feel right. Shepard glanced at Garrus and Miranda. Both of them nodded. They were ready. They had her back.

“Damn it. If I had been a few seconds faster, I could have stopped them.” Vasir holstered her pistol, her voice even and casual without a hint of emotion. Danica didn’t buy it. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

“Is this Sekat?” Shepard asked, kneeling down to examine the dead Salarian, hiding her face from Vasir. She glanced down at her gun to make sure she had a few rounds if things went sideways fast, as they had a tendency to do.

“Must have been,” the other Spectre responded, her voice still void of any concern.

“No sign of that data Liara talked about. Looks like we’re at a dead end.” Shepard stood and looked at Vasir.

“Speaking of which,” Vasir continued. “Did you find your friend’s body?”

“You mean this body?” Liara T’Soni stepped into the room as if appearing from thin air, gun pulled, pointed at Vasir. Shepard let out a breath of relief at the sight of her.

“Liara.” She caught her friend’s eye. “Something I should know?”

“This is the woman who tried to kill me,” Liara said, starting towards Vasir again her steps steady, her voice cold. Anger burned in Shepard’s gut. She’d thought Vasir could be a Broker agent, even a merc on the side of her Spectre duties, paid to throw off Liara and Danica. But being the one who actually tried to kill her friend…

“You’ve had a rough day,” Vasir said, almost tauntingly. “So I’ll let that slide. Why don’t you put that gun down?”

“I saw you. I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment!” Liara glared at the other Asari. Shepard’s gun was up and aimed at Vasir in less than a second. Garrus and Miranda followed suit only moments behind her.

“You didn’t know where Liara went because she hid the message,” Danica said. “You needed me to find it for you.”

Vasir smirked.

“Thanks for the help.”

“Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker’s forces. They bombed the building to take me out.” Liara snarled and Shepard almost laughed. It was not often Liara T’Soni snarled. “She found Sekat, took his data and killed him. I’m guessing she’s still got the disk on her.”

“Good guess,” Vasir cooed. “Not that you’ll ever get to see what’s on it...you Pureblood bitch!

A flash of blue ran over Vasir’s body and the glass window behind Vasir shattered. Before Danica released what was happening, the Asari used her biotics to toss the wave of shattered glass toward the four of them. She opened her mouth to yell a warning, but before she could say anything, Liara had a barrier up, the glass dissolving as it hit the biotic power.

Then that bitch who had tried to kill her friend - had just tried to kill Danica and her team - took off for the open window. And there was no way in fucking hell Shepard was just going to let her go. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A car chase, a girl talk and feeling continue to bubble to the surface.
> 
> **The Shepard/Liara banter during the car chase on Illium is one of my favorite ME moments ever. It cracks me up every time, so I had to put it in. #sorrynotsorry

Garrus had been ready for just about anything. Except for Shepard taking off after Vasir after the Spectre jumped out the window. 

“Shepard!” He shouted running toward the hole in the wall. Floating in midair, Vasir and Shepard were locked in a fist fight, the asari’s biotics keeping them afloat. Until Vasir landed a kick in Shepard’s stomach and the human fell an entire story, slamming into the ground. Horror rolled in his stomach as he watched Vasir land at Shepard’s motionless side. He was about ready to jump after her, damn the impact, when Liara flashed past him, launching herself out the window, her own biotics slowing her fall. 

The old Liara would have let Vasir go; would have stopped and made sure Shepard was okay. But it’d been clear from the first time they’d run into her on Illium, that Liara was gone. Instead of checking on Danica, the formerly sweet, shy archaeologist took off at a full run after a Spectre, pistol in hand. If Garrus wasn’t so annoyed that she’d left Shepard behind, he’d be impressed.

“Come on!” Miranda pulled at his arm and then two of them ran back through the Dracon Trade Center, now free of opponents. When they reach Shepard, she was just getting to her feet. She didn’t say anything, not that she needed to. The anger burning in her eyes and the set of her jaw said all the Garrus needed to know. They were going after the two asari. 

There were more Broker agents to fight through. When they finally found Liara and Vasir again, the two were locked in a shootout, but when the Spectre caught sight of the three of them, she called a sky car with her omni-tool and took off. Liara moved out of cover, swearing under her breath as she pulled up her omni-tool and began hacking into another skycar. Without invitation, Shepard waited at the driver side door, climbing in when it unlocked.

“I”m fine by the way, thanks for asking,” Shepard snarked, waving at Garrus to join them. Liara ignored the comment. “Miranda, can you get back to the docking bay and put the Normandy on alert? If she gets off planet, I want to be able to follow her.”

“Be careful, Shepard,” Miranda said. 

“Aren’t I always?” Danica said. Garrus thought he saw her wink at the Cerberus agent, but it was hard to see from the backseat. Miranda just snorted and didn’t bother to answer as Shepard pulled the door shut and took off after Vasir. 

It didn’t take long for Garrus to regret coming. If the Mako had been bad, this was worse. At least with the Mako there was no oncoming traffic. Thankful for the safety belt, he gripped the seat. Things only got worse when Liara and Shepard starting bickering. 

“Hang a right. No wait, left!” Liara directed. 

“I’m on her.”

Garrus decided to try closing his eyes to see if that kept his stomach from flipping. 

“We’re not going into the construction zone are we..oh, Goddess.” Liara’s voice made his eyes spring open again, just a few seconds later. “Go go go go go go!”

“I’m going!” Shepard growled back.

“Traffic! Oncoming traffic!”

“We’ll be fine.” The nonchalance in Shepard’s voice made Garrus groan, bringing back memories of the Mako flying over the edge of a mountain. 

“She’s dropping proximity charges,” Liara warned. 

“I noticed.” Shepard was getting annoyed - either with Vasir’s evasion or Liara’s nagging. Or both. Garrus tried to focus on that rather than the hundreds of cars Shepard zipped by. It worked until Liara cried out that Vasir had reinforcements moving in. “What kind of guns does this thing have?”

“It’s a taxi! It has a fare meter!” Liara gaped at her. 

“Wonderful”

Garrus closed his eyes again, this time refusing to open them when Liara cried out.

“Truck!”

“I know,” Shepard answered.

“Truck!”

“I know!”

“Aaaaah!”

Despite his best efforts, Garrus looked when Liara screamed, just in time to see Shepard narrowly miss the truck. 

“There we go,” she said lightly. Liara glared at her.

“You’re enjoying this,” the asari accused. When Shepard just chuckled, Garrus groaned again. 

“A head on collision at this speed…” Liara warned and damn her to hell, Shepard shrugged.

“Yeah, I hear those can be bad for you.”

The bantering continued as Shepard navigated through buildings and traffic until the finally caught up to Vasir’s car. Garrus was relieved for the briefest of moments. Until Vasir rammed her car into theirs. Shepard turned to look at the other Spectre and Garrus caught sight of her grin. The sick bastard thought this was fun. 

And she was better at it than Vasir. Just a few bumps and Vasir crashed into an apartment building. When they landed, Garrus gladly threw himself into the battle with Broker agents. He’d rather fight a hundred Broker agents than be in that skycar with Shepard again. They moved smoothly through the agents, the three of them falling into a quick rhythm. Fighting with Liara is familiar - like old times - and he catches Shepard smiling more than once. At least until Vasir is down, glaring up at Danica, questioning her working for Cerberus. 

Garrus watches emotions flash through Danica’s eyes. She hides them - he doesn’t think Vasir can see - but he knows her too well. He knows the double agent gets to her. When Shepard calls for Miranda to notify authorities that Vasir has been detained and needs to be transferred to the Citadel, her voice is low and rough with emotion.

Garrus stays with Vasir when Liara storms off and Shepard follows her. He could hear the argument over their coms, as surprised as Danica at this new hardness in Liara. The two of them rejoin him when the authorities show up but they remain silent. He wants to lean into Shepard again, to show his support, but she moves away from him before he can. Instead, he loads Vasir into another skycar, her hands restrained behind her back, and resolves to talk to Shepard when they’re back on the Normandy.

But he never gets the chance. Paperwork and other crew members occupy Shepard’s time when they get to the ship. They were heading straight for the coordinates they’d recovered. No stops, no distractions. When he wasn’t helping with operational planning, he was in the battery making sure the guns were calibrated correctly in case they were needed. It wasn’t until they were standing on the shuttle, looking down at the Shadow Broker’s ship that the two of them had even a moment to themselves. Liara had jumped first and was waiting for them.

His visor gave her away again - the racing heart, the fast breathing, the rising blood pressure - but it wasn’t until she spoke that he realized what the problem was. 

“Fuck,” she said under her breath, low enough that coms didn’t pick it up. The only reason he heard was because he was right behind her. He was so close that her hand brushed his shoulder as she reached for the back of her neck; for the tubes that supplied the air to her helmet.

They were going to have to make their way along the outside of the ship; in open space. The last time Shepard had been in open space, she’d died. 

“Hey, it’s gonna be okay, Shep.” He made sure to keep his voice low to keep it off the coms as well. “I won’t let anything happen.”

Silence hung for a few moments, her heart still racing.

“Promise?” She whispered, letting go of her tubes. 

“Promise,” he answered. He watched her nod her head, suck in a deep breath and square her shoulders. Then she jumped, Garrus only moments after her.

“Oh Liara,” she said when she landed. The words were light, teasing, but Garrus heard the tightness in her voice. “You always take me to the nicest places.”

 

______________

 

Danica sighed and ran a hand through her hair. She was sore and bruised from the battle with the Shadow Broker; her chest still tight with panic from running along the outside of a ship and from watching Garrus go down. She’d almost lost it then and there, seeing him lay limply on the floor. The door to her cabin slid open before she could get lost in the memory and Liara slid into the room, dressed in a long purple dress. She smiled. 

“Did you enjoy the tour?” 

“Yes. It’s a beautiful ship. And I saw Joker. He seemed happy to see me. I also spoke with Doctor Chakwas. I’m glad she’s doing well.” Liara paused, standing in front of Danica’s wall of ship models. Shepard leaned against her desk. “I, uh, I brought you something. It took some digging, but I recovered your tags.”

Shepard pushed herself off her desk, reaching out for the small, glass display case Liara help out for her. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and ran her fingers over the glass.

“I thought I’d never see these again,” she whispered. God, she missed wearing these; missed being a part of something she believed in rather than something that was her only option. Before emotions could overwhelm her, she set the case down on her desk while Liara spoke. 

“They changed hands more than once. Do you remember Admiral Hackett? He gave them to me so I could return them to you. He sends his best...and hopes you’re okay.” Liara stopped and looked at Danica, her voice softer now. “How are you actually doing, Shepard? I mean really, not what you tell your crew to keep morale up.”

Danica considered lying; considered keeping Liara out of it. She was the Shadow Broker now; she had more important things to worry about. But Shepard was selfish and tired and she desperately wanted her friend back in her life.

“Between you and me?” She said, throwing her hands up in the air and dropped onto the edge of her bed. “I have no idea how we’re going to do this. I’m doing everything I can but…”

“You’ve done more than most. But tell me what you want. What are you fighting for?” Liara sat down next to her, slipping a hand into Danica’s arm. The human smiled at the familiar move. She sighed.

“I guess I’m fighting for us. For all of us.”

“That’s a lot of responsibility,” Liara whispered. Danica shrugged.

“People are messy,” she tried to explain. “Awkward, sometimes selfish or cruel. But they’re trying. And I’m going to make sure they have that chance.” 

“I hope the galaxy proves itself worthy of the effort you’re putting in to save it.”

Shepard sighed again and leaned her head on Liara’s shoulder. 

“You and me both, Li.”

“Good. Now, let’s talk about what’s going on with you and Garrus.”

 

_______

 

Garrus had finished with his calibrations, eating dinner and even joined Joker for a game of poker when he decided he was finished waiting for Shepard to come find him. His decision might have been fueled by the Turian whiskey Joker had managed to track down on Illium while Garrus was fighting off a heart attack in a skycar. But he knew Shepard; he knew the last few days had upset her - Vasir, Liara, worrying about him on the Shadow Broker’s ship. If he were honest about himself, he wanted to talk to her for his own reasons. He worried about her; about what would happen to her if she bottled all this up. He was her best friend; it was his job to make sure she dealt with all this.

Or something like that.

He paused just inside the door to her cabin and stared at the scene greeting him. Liara sat at the head of Shepard’s bed, leaning against the headboard. Danica lay curled up next to her, head resting on the asari’s lap as Liara ran her fingers through Shepard’s hair. For a moment, jealousy flashed through Garrus - he wanted to be in Liara’s place - before he pushed it down. She deserved another friend. Both women glanced up at him and smiled. 

“Hello, Garrus,” Liara said, her eyes twinkling at him. 

“Uh, hi,” he said, not sure what to do. Thankfully, Liara decided for him. 

“It is time I got back,” she said. Danica frowned but sat up and allowed the asari to get off the bed. Shepard followed suit, her shoulders slumped just a little as Liara gave her a hug. 

“I know you’re the Shadow Broker now,” Danica said. “And I know that will help us more than I ever dreamed, but I still wish you could stay on the Normandy.”

“Me too, but I need to be on that ship. It’s the best way I know how to help. This is too  important to let our wishes get in the way.” Liara gave Danica another quick hug, squeezed Garrus’ arm affectionately as she passed and then was gone, leaving Garrus and Danica alone.

When the door slid closed, Shepard fell back onto the bed. Her lips pressed together and Garrus was sure he could see the glint of unshed tears in her eyes. 

“You okay?” He sat down next to her and waited in silence until she responded.

“Not really,” she answered with a whisper. She pointed to something sitting on her desk. “She brought my old tags and I just.... Fuck, Garrus, I miss that Shepard. Alliance officer, N7, respected Spectre. I worked my ass off for that. And now...what the fuck am I now? Barely a Spectre, working for Cerberus - Cerberus, Garrus - and the Alliance won’t touch me.

“And then there’s Liara. Did you see her on Illium? She didn’t even stop for me. She’s so...hard. What happened to her?” Danica looked up at him with big blue eyes. He wanted to lie to her - to tell her Liara was fine; that nothing had changed. But he couldn’t do that. Not to Shepard. 

“You died,” he said, hating it when hurt flashed across her face. “It changed us - all of us - when we lost you. When the Council denounced all the work you did; ignored the Reapers even though we all knew they were coming. All of us dealt with it in our own way. Liara and I, we tried to take on the world - in our own ways - and we lost people along the way. It...changes you.”

Danica looked away and didn’t say anything for several long minutes. Finally, she sighed and laid back on the bed. Garrus twisted around so he could see her face. 

“This is all such a fucking mess,” she said, shaking her head. “And something tells me it’s only going to get worse.”

“Well, it’s us, so...probably,” Garrus said. A laugh erupted from Danica and she shook her head at him. 

“At least you’ll be with me,” she smiled and, though it had never really been in question, Garrus knew right then that he’d follow Shepard into hell and back. No matter how messy things got, there was no where in the universe he’d rather be than with her.

“As long as you’ll have me,” he said, he voice low and rumbling. To his delight, a blush spread across Danica’s cheeks.

“Well, good,” she stammered. Then she sat up abruptly, like laying on the bed next to him was too much, and retrieved a glass of wine from the coffee table. “Join me for a drink?”

“I thought you’d never ask.”


End file.
